A. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to employing a dynamic user interface for an electronic device. More particularly, the disclosure relates to the use of context sensitive soft labels and button states to provide a user interface that allows a user to navigate through a series of functions associated with an electronic device.
B. Related Art
In conventional computer systems, a single monitor or other type of display unit is connected to a system bus via an interface, such as a video adapter. The system bus couples the monitor to the central processing unit (CPU) of the host computer. The host computer executes instructions requesting that information be retrieved from system memory and sent over the system bus to the display monitor for display.
One known system provides a computer network having a common CPU that can be shared among multiple display terminals and keyboards. In this system, the display terminals are dumb terminals under the control of the CPU. Such a system is typically set up for multiple independent users. The advantage of such a system is that the CPU can be centrally located out of sight and away from each of the user's terminals. Thus, space can be freed up at a user's workstation. Another advantage is that all the applications can be stored in a single location rather than having to be installed separately for each user.
With the advent of smart home environments, it is not feasible to place traditional computer terminals including large monitors and keyboards at multiple locations around a home. Traditional computer terminals require a significant amount of space, which is typically not available in most locations throughout a home. Thus, smaller control panel units including auxiliary displays are needed to facilitate the implementation of smart homes.
Existing control panel units are designed for systems with limited functionality such as stereos, telephones and the like. The user interfaces for these devices typically have several buttons and a display panel with each button being dedicated to one function. For example, with a radio, one button may be dedicated to volume control and another to tuning. To provide rich and robust functionality for multiple applications that will be employed in smart homes, existing control panel units require additional buttons. With an increase in the number of buttons, control panel real estate expands such that the size of the control panel unit approaches the size of a traditional computer terminal. Further, operation can become overwhelming from a user friendliness perspective with a substantial number of buttons. Such control panel units are unwieldy for the home environment where space is at a premium. Consequently, there is a need in the art to increase the functionality available in a control panel unit to approach the richness and robustness of a traditional computer terminal while providing a feasibly sized control panel unit.